Amazon Slapped With A $US91,000 Fine Over Leaking Shipment Of Flammable Adhesive

Amazon has paid a $US91,000 civil penalty for improperly shipping a package with flammable liquid adhesive, the Federal Aviation Administration announced today.

The liquid adhesive is a hazardous material under US DOT regulations.

The tech giant’s employees “offered the shipment without the requisite shipping papers or emergency response information, and did not mark, label, or properly package the shipment,” according to the FAA.

Amazon “failed to properly train its employees” for this kind of shipment, the release said.

The shipment was on a FedEx flight from Whitestown, Ind. to Boulder, Colo., on September 16, 2013. A gallon container of the adhesive was found leaking in Boulder. The $US91,000 goes to the U.S. Treasury.

Here’s the full FAA release:

Amazon Pays $US91,000 Civil Penalty

SEATTLE — Amazon.com, Inc. paid in full a $US91,000 civil penalty that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had proposed against the Seattle, Wash. company for violating Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations.

On September 16, 2013, Amazon employees improperly shipped a package containing flammable liquid adhesive by air on Federal Express (FedEx) from Whitestown, Ind., to Boulder, Colo. FedEx employees in Boulder discovered a gallon container of the adhesive was leaking.

The adhesive is classified as a hazardous material (HazMat) under Department of Transportation regulations.

Amazon offered the shipment without the requisite shipping papers or emergency response information, and did not mark, label, or properly package the shipment. Amazon also failed to properly train its employees in preparing HazMat packages for shipment by air.

The FAA issued the proposed civil penalty letter in late February 2014.

Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.